And his recovery from the dark times which followed his X Factor triumph was also on the agenda today when he opened up on national TV.

In an interview with Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes on ITV’s This Morning, complete with on-screen caption “Sex, drugs and self loathing nearly ruined me”, James, 28, admitted that when X Factor came around, he “probably wasn’t prepared for the level of scrutiny and attention that comes with it.”

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He said: “I didn’t know how to deal with it and I pressed the self-destruct button.”

On entering the show, he said: “I wanted a better life and the X Factor was the only real way.

“There was a lot of pressure and a lot of judgement. I was just taking a chance and wanted make something better for myself.”

But James admits he had personal problems even before the show, when he was living alone in a Teesside bedsit, saying he was “very insecure and anxious.” He added: “Before The X Factor, I was self-medicating quite a bit just to get through that stuff.”

James Arthur on ITV's This Morning

After winning the show, he admits: “I definitely didn’t realise how big the repercussions would be, or how devastating the way I was behaving could be.

Admitting he was “very embarrassed” by his post-victory meltdown, which included social media spats, sex scandals and being dropped from Simon Cowell’s record label Syco, the singer added: “It’s a tough thing to look back on.

“I was having anxiety attacks, calling ambulances and saying I was having a heart attack.

“I buckled under the anxiety and the pressure.”

Asked by Eamonn Holmes how he got people to believe in him again, James said: “I think the most important thing was beginning to believe in myself.

“I said ‘do you know what, I need to stop beating myself up, I need to stop being so down on myself’.

“I was having lots of anxiety attacks. I was calling ambulances out and saying ‘I’m having a heart attack - something weird is happening to my body and my mind.’

“I got tired of that and I said ‘I fight and I keep going and make some music that’s honest, and as long as I make some honest music and be real and positive from now on, it may connect with people.”